Earlier this year, after 40 years in advertising, I left a six-figure paying career behind me. Sure, I was approaching retirement age, but I knew I still had plenty of energy left. I could have continued working as an advertising copywriter for a pharmaceutical company for another five or so years. But something had changed in me.
If you glance at my recent books A Wake-Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curiousthis may not come as a surprise to you, as you probably know I write a weekly “Spiritual Column.” morning Call I worked at Patheos for about 12 years, and slowly, as I became more immersed in the spiritual books and articles I was writing, and the occasional podcast, my interest in writing ads for pharmaceutical magazines waned. A lot.
During those last few years working in advertising, my usual 100% work effort had dipped to 90% or 80%. (OK, maybe 70%) But it wasn’t really a fair fight. I had to ask myself every day: Should I spend my early morning hours poring over clinical studies of a new drug or digging deep into Thomas Moore’s latest research on the soul? Should I dig through 80 pages of focus group research or immerse myself in a new book on the secret words of Jesus?
You see, what was meaningful and important to me had shifted in both my head and my heart. Whenever I had a new story with a message that my readers wanted to hear, I spent hours writing and rewriting a headline that would grab them. The hours I once spent tweaking a copy of a cholesterol-lowering drug now were spent crafting a headline for a new way to keep your mind going.
I traded Madison Avenue for the Mystic Pass
We all walk our own path in life. I’ve become an archiver of spiritual thoughts. Here’s how I do it: When I read a book or article about spirituality, I look for the single most important point the author is trying to get across (there may be multiple points). I then “frame” that message into a short story, usually around 1,000 words, that includes my interpretation of what it means and why I think it’s important.
In a way, I’m like one of those old guys you see on the beach with his wide-brimmed hat and metal detector, searching for trinkets and treasures buried in the sand. Except I’m a spiritual beachcomber. Sometimes what I find isn’t very valuable so I throw it in the trash. But because I examine each book before reading, I often find something that is truly valuable. While other beachcombers might put their finds in their pockets or in a bag tied to their belt loops, I hold it aloft for the world to see.
The story behind the writing Wake up call, Book
Most of this book was written over the last decade while I commuted from my home on the New Jersey coast to my office in midtown Manhattan. I was an extreme commuter, spending more than five and a half hours a day commuting by car, bus, foot, and subway. I tried to make the most of my time by reading, listening to podcasts, searching for ideas that would resonate with me and my readers, and writing about it all.
This resulted in about 500 articles being published in my weekly magazine. morning Call I wrote a column. For the book, I organized my writing into categories for each day of the week: inspiration, awareness, character, mission, practice, inner work, and reflection. Then I tackled the difficult task of organizing so many stories into a book. What were my criteria for the stories that would make it into a book? As I wrote in the book’s introduction:
Some of these stories have been controversial among a diverse audience because I have gone outside the box and challenged traditional religious beliefs. However, many of my columns seem to have filled a real need among my fellow wisdom seekers, leading to many positive comments and shares on social media. This book collects 112 stories, including fan-favorite stories, controversial stories, and stories that were especially important or meaningful to me.
Please check it A Wake-Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious And see what I discover in my search for meaning. Meanwhile, I get back to work, plotting my next weekly column, and planning my second book. (I’m currently in the middle of reading five books, with six in my “to be read” pile, and two I recently finished and need to reconsider.) It’s time to get out the metal detector again and scan the beach for treasures hidden there.
